Press Realease from Justice Through Peace Initiative of Oswego

Oswego Peace Vigil and Open Forum to Commemorate
Iraq War (Invasion and Occupation) Anniversary on March 29.

Press Release from Justice Through Peace Initiative (JTPI) of Oswego:



Oswego Peace Vigil and Open Forum to Commemorate
Iraq War (Invasion and Occupation) Anniversary on March 29.



Robin Miller and Winfield Ihlow, co-chairs of Justice Through
Peace Initiative (JTPI) of Oswego, announced today that a Peace Vigil and
an Open Forum will mark the Third Anniversary of the Iraq War on March 29.
The peace vigil will be held on the west end of the Bridge Street Bridge
at 5:30, and will be followed by an Open Mike in the River's End Bookstore
(at the corner of Bridge Street and West First) at 6:30. All viewpoints
will be respectfully listened to.



"Three years of violence have past and the fourth year is
beginning with over 2300 US soldiers killed, as well as thousands injured
and maimed, physically and/or psychologically," said Ihlow. "So, too,
there is an estimated 100,000 Iraqis (by the respected British journal The
Lancet) killed and many thousands more injured or traumatized. Why? Greed,
mainly. Oil, principally. Arrogance, effectively. For our children's
sake, we need to join together to express our dissent (the best form of
patriotism, according to Thomas Jefferson). The world does not belong to
us, we belong to the world. But it is ours to preserve or squander."



Robin Miller, who protested the war in Oswego from its inception, was at
the Iraq War commemoration on March 19 in Syracuse, where she commented
on the day when the number of US deaths reached 2000. "I was thinking
about 2,000 mothers, 2,000 Thanksgiving dinners, 2,000 tables set and
2,000 empty chairs," she said. "2,000 Purple Hearts handed to 2000
mothers." She also wondered about the suffering of the Iraqi mothers.
Ms. Miller, the mother of a son serving in the U.S. Navy, later
commented, "It's OK to disagree with the war, while still supporting our
sons and daughters who so honorably serve in our military services."



"Do you remember the Shock and Awe of the American air attacks on
Baghdad?," asks Akira Loveridge-Sanbonmatsu, a JTPI board member.
"Rumsfield promised that it would be a display the likes of which the
world had never seen. He kept that promise. At that time, the average
age of the population of Iraq was fifteen. With our bombing, invasion and
war we traumatized a nation of primarily children. How many are now
insurgents or police officers or soldiers involved in the war.. I believe
that we are part of the problem. The best we can do is to bring our own
soldiers home and allow the Iraqi people, the United Nations and the
Middle East nations themselves to develop a plan for peace. Ours has not
worked."



In preparing for the Peace Vigil, SUNY Oswego campus groups may march
from the college campus to downtown Oswego. They will meet at the Hewitt
Union at 3:45 and leave at 4:00 p.m. to walk down to meet others waiting
on the Bridge Street Bridge.



We hope to see as many people as possible, those who want to make their
distress about the actions of the U.S. government in the oil reserves of
the Persian Gulf.